Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) will offer the construction of the Kirkuk oil refinery in the south of Iraq to international companies on a build, operate and own basis in December 2012, a senior official told Zawya.
"Feasibility studies are ongoing with two Italian and American advisers," said Salar Ameen, deputy chairman of the Iraqi National Investment Commission. The Iraqi oil ministry will make public the specifications before the end of the year, he said. The refinery will cost approximately of USD 6 billion, with a capacity of more than 150,000 barrels per day of oil.
Companies from the US, China, Korea, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have expressed interest in bidding for the project, Ameen said. According to him, construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
The Kirkuk refinery project is part of the oil ministry's plan to build four refineries across the country to meet increasing domestic demand. These refineries will have a total capacity of 740,000 bpd of oil at an estimated cost of USD 20 billion, according to the Zawya Projects Monitor.
© Zawya 2012
